Whitman School students to compete in NYMEX Challenge

Whitman School students to compete in NYMEX Challenge February 27, 2006Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Students from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University will compete in the 2006 Commodities Challenge, a trading competition with cash and internship prizes sponsored by the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and CO-ED Magazine. The Whitman School was invited to participate in the challenge during a recent NYMEX visit sponsored by the Ballentine Investment Institute.

Students will compete regionally through March 20 in a simulation of off-the-floor trading with a mock account balance of $100,000. If a team’s account balance drops below zero or below the minimum margin, the team is disqualified. Teams will also have the opportunity to simulate trading on the NYMEX floor in an “open cry-out” challenge. The winning team is the team with the highest account balance.

Winners of the regional competitions will advance to the national final, where teams will be issued a mock account balance of $250,000. A winner will be announced April 6.

Whitman students participating in the competition are members of the Whitman Investment Club. Student president of the Whitman Investment Club is David Ries, a senior finance major; the faculty advisor is Fernando Diz, the Martin J. Whitman Associate Professor of Finance and director of the Ballentine Investment Institute.

For more information, contact Betty Ross, Ballentine Investment Institute, Whitman School of Management, at (315) 443-7229or beross@syr.edu.